Why is Poop a Problem?: Anoop Jain at TEDxTU

We all do it, and according to Freud we should enjoy it, but for many it is a difficult and embarrassing experience. Why? Because pooping is universal, but toilets are not. Anoop Jain, founder of the Humanure Power Project, believes we can solve the problem once those privileged enough to "have" toilets understand the burden of those who "have not."

(Applause)

Is this on?

Ok. Well, yes. It is.

So, my name is Anoop Jain

and I am here tonight
to talk to you all about

the very normal human
condition and experience

we all know as pooping.

And so, the reason I want
to talk to you all about this

is because, three years ago,
I was in a village, in rural India,

and I was working there

and I happened
to witness about, you know,

close to a thousand villagers
defecating outside.

And this was something
that was extremely troubling.

And, so I started
to do my own research

and I quickly found that there is about
2.5 billion people in the world

who are forced to defecate
outside on a daily basis.

And 650 million of these
people live in India alone.

And so, it’s, you know, seeing
the people defecating outside

coupled with these statistics,

which really drove me to start
my own organization

that builds community
toilet blocks

and harnesses the human waste
to create energy.

But I’m not really here
to talk to you about that tonight.

What I think is going to be
a lot more valuable, in fact,

is if I try to instill a similar sense
of urgency in you all.

And, in order to do that,
I first need to make you care.

So I want to start
with a quick survey.

How many of you all
do not poop?

(Laughter)

Ok, great, ok.

So, then, the data confirms
my hypothesis

that everyone, in fact, poops.
Great.

So, I want you to remember that,

‘cause that’s going to be
really important later.

So, let’s talk about something
else really quickly.

So, I have this theory that

there are two kinds
of people in this world.

There’s the haves
and the have-nots.

And the reason problems
in this world exist

is because the haves don’t necessarily
understand the have-nots.

And so,
what eventually happens,

is that, when the haves
try to help the have-nots,

they’re rendered useless,

due to their lack
of understanding,

when trying to effect any kind
of substantive change.

And this is what then ultimately
lets the problems persist.

So, what does this mean
in the context of pooping?

Well, you all just admitted
that you all poop, which is great.

So, you and seven other
billion people poop.

But there is one key difference,

and that is everyone in this room
has a place to poop.

And, like I said earlier,

there’s 2.5 billion people
who don’t.

So, that is the difference.
You are in the haves

and those people are
in the have-nots.

So, I think all of us
have had situations

or experiences in our life,

where we really needed to go,
and there was no toilet.

And those are really
embarrassing moments,

they’re really tough moments,

and we try to repress them
and forget about them,

'cause they are just that awful.

But, so… and that’s fine.

But I think that here is the problem –
is that,

what if you were faced with
that situation every single day?

What would you do?

Well, and it would impact you differently,
depending on who you are.

So, if you’re a woman,
for example,

you’re going to try to go
either early in the morning

or late in the evening,

when the sun is low,
to protect your privacy.

Well, unfortunately,
that leaves you vulnerable

for either sexual assault
or rape.

If you are a young girl –
well, only one in six schools

in rural India actually has a toilet.

So, if you’re a girl
that goes to one of those

other five schools,
and you reach puberty,

where are going
to change your pads?

So, 40% of all the girls in India
that drop out of school,

the reason they drop out
is because their school has no toilet.

So, India is essentially
depriving itself

of its future generation
of female leaders.

And if you're a man – well, men in India
are traditionally the bread winners.

And, so,
about ten billion dollars

are lost every single year in India,

because of lack of productivity,

due to the time spent searching
for a place to defecate.

So that’s going to be about an hour
every single day.

That’s ten billion dollars.

So, going beyond that,
if you look at the whole family,

well, if you have 650 million
people defecating outside,

you have a hundred
thousand tons

of untreated human waste

left outside every single day.

Just try to imagine
how unhygienic that is

and what that does to
the health of the society.

So, everyone is going
to be getting sick, all the time.

So, clearly,

defecation outside is impacting everyone
in a lot of different ways.

Two of my very best friends,
Suzanna and Chandler, they're here tonight.

And they have a dog.

Her name is Annie.

And I love going on walks
with Suzanna and Chandler and Annie,

and I think they already know
where I’m going with this.

But, Annie is great,

and I love watching her poop,
which might sound weird.

But it is actually quite glorious.

So, here is… I want
to recreate it for you.

So, she’ll squat down,

and then, as soon
as she’s done pooping,

she literally just sprints,
as fast as she can in the other direction.

And I really honestly think
this is symbolic

of our human relationship
with waste.

I mean, I don’t think we'd literally
actually sprint out of the toilet every time we shit.

But I think what happens is
that I honestly think

that we have this great
aversion to our own waste.

And we hate talking about it.

And, to be perfectly
honest with you,

that’s completely unfair,

because there’s 40% of the world

that has to deal with this
on a daily basis.

And they can’t flush it out of sight
or out of mind.

And, so I want to leave you
with one thought,

and that is, the next time
you’re sitting on your toilet,

I want you to remember
that what you have

is, in fact, a privilege,

when it really ought
to be a right.

Thank you.

(Appaluse)